IXAnd Thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea
This is a good quality of the Holy One, Blessed is He. For, behold, when
Israel sinned He delivered them into the hands of Pharaoh. But when they
repented why should Pharaoh have been punished, or Sennacharib, or Haman,
and the others? The Holy One, Blessed is He, is not content with saying:
'Because they have repented, no more evil will befall them but Haman
or Pharaoh or Sennacharib will be removed from them.' This does not
suffice, but the toil of Haman[1] reverts on to his own head and so with
Pharoah and so with Sennacharib. The reason for this type of Providence
is in accordance with the secret of: "And the goat shall[2] bear upon
him all their iniquities to a land which is cut off.' The meaning is
that the goat actually bears their sins. Now, this is very hard to
understand. Shall the goat bear if Israel has sinned? But the idea here
is: man confesses his sin, his intention in confessing being to purify
himself. As David said: 'Wash me[3] thoroughly from my iniquity.' So, too,
our prayer: 'Purge[4] the sins away in Thine abiding
compassion.' He prays
that the punishment be a light one only so that it should not interfere
with his study of the Torah. Therefore, the prayer continues: 'Though
not by sore affliction.' This is his intention, too, when he says: 'But
Thou art just[5] with regard to all which comes to me.' He actually welcomes
suffering, in order to find atonement; for there are sins which only
suffering or death can purge. And so it is ordained. The Zohar[6] to Pekude
explains that, following on his confession, the sins become a portion of
Sama'el[7], like the goat. What is this portion? That the Holy One, Blessed
is He, decrees suffering upon the repentant sinner, upon which Sama'el
immediately appears to claim his debt. So that Israel becomes pure because
the goat bears their sins, for the Holy One, Blesses is He, gives him
permission to claim his debt. Blessed is He, gives him permission to
claim his debt. And the reason is that the Holy One, Blessed is He, had
so decreed in His world that he who does so loses his identity. This is
why Scripture says: 'And the animal shall be killed[8].' So, too, with
regard to the stone with which the command to stone the criminal is
carried out and the sword by which an execution is performed. These have
to be buried[9] to nullify their existence and their power, after justice
has been meted out.

In the very same way we must understand the secret of Nebuchadnezzar's image.[10]
Israel had been delievered into the hands of the Babylonian king - 'Its
head was of gold.' That head was smitten and they were delivered into
the hands of the Persians, who were: 'Its breasts and arms of silver.'
And so kingdom is dispossessed by kingdom, until Israel will be at the
feet of the image - 'part of iron and part of clay.' What will be the final
good? Eventually, the Holy One, Blessed is He, whill set them up and
execute judgment upon them. As it is written: 'I will spend[11] Mine arrows
upon them' - 'Mine arrows will be spent[12] but Israel will not be spent.'
'Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold..'
Behold, at first it is written: 'which smote the image upon its feet'-
noting was left of the image except its feet, for the head, shoulders
and belly had been removed and their power destroyed. And yet at the
end 'the were broken in pieces together[13].' For the Holy One, Blessed is
He, is destined to resurrect Sama'el and the wicked who behave as he
does and He will execute judgment upon them. This is the meaning of:
And thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.
That is: Thou wilt cast the power of Judgment so that it falls upon
so that it falls upon those who are described as 'the depths of the sea'-
'But the wicked[14 are like the troubled sea: For it cannot rest, and its
waters cast up mire and dirt.' These are the wicked who carry out judgment
upon Israel and whose dealings will return upon their own heads. The
reason for this is that when Israel is punished the Holy One, Blessed is
He, repents for what has happened before and He makes demands on behalf
of their shame. And not only this but: 'I was but a little wrath[15] and they
helped for evil.'

This quality a man should make his own. Even if his neighbor is crushed
through suffering as a result of his sins he should not be hated, for
'after he has been disgraced[16], he is as thy brother.' He should welcome
those who suffer and are punished and have mercy upon them. On the
contrary, he should save them from their enemies and should not say:
'His sufferings are the result of his sins' but he should have compassion
upon him according to this quality, as I have explained.

XThou wilt show truth to Jacob
This quality means that the name Israel refers to a special excellence.
But the average persons who do not go beyond the letter of the law are
called Jacob, for they conduct themselves only in accordance with the
truth[17]. The Holy One, Blessed is He, possesses a quality of truth which
accords with strict justice and uprightness. For those who conduct
themselves in accordance with the truth the Holy One, Blessed is He,
has compassion in truth and uprightness.

A man, too, should behave in truth and uprightness to his neighbor,
without perverting justice. He should have compassion on his neighbor
in truth just as the Holy One, Blessed is He, has compassion on those
of His creatures who are no more than average, to perfect them in
accordance with the quality of truth.

broken in pieces together Implying that the whole of the
image was in existance to be broken. C.'s solution is that the image is
refashioned in order to be broken, i.e., Same'el and the wicked will be
resurrected in order to be destroyed.

'after he has been disgraced The verse in Deut. XXV. 3
states with regard to the victim of a flogging: 'And thy brother seem
vile to thee' which the Rabbis interpret: 'After he has become vile (i.e.,
after he has recieved his punishment) he is thy brother' and must not
be discriminated against, v. Mish. Makk. III, 15, and Herbert Danby's
Mishnah, O.U.P., 1933, p. 408, note 5.